Annually, an estimated 22-30% of adults newly diagnosed with cancer will have 1 or more school-age or adolescent children. There is now growing evidence that parental cancer causes substantial distress in the child that often goes unattended by the parent or the providers. Despite the magnitude of distress and numbers affected, to date there is only one intervention that has been tested for efficacy in a randomized clinical trial, the Enhancing Connections Program.

Dr. Frances Marcus Lewis is a Professor in the Department of Family and Child Nursing, University of Washington. Dr. Lewis will review the scientific evidence of the impact of parental cancer on dependent children, summarize results from the clinical trial, and outline activities that providers can do to foster beneficial outcomes for the child and affected ill parent. Although the focus is on cancer, likely study results and recommendations are generalizable to other types of serious medical illness in a child-rearing parent.

This talk is co-sponsored by the UT Austin School of Nursing, LiveSTRONG Foundation, My Healing Place, The Christi Center, Wonders and Worries, and Hospice Austin.

The event is free and open to the public. CEUs will be provided. The Utopia Theatre is located at the School of Social Work, 1925 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78712.